Fatigue (& Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
Foods to Eat More Of:
Foods to Avoid or Minimize:
Essential Oils:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
Natural/Herbal:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
Yoga Therapy:
Mind-Body Connection:
Recipes - Food Medicine:
*Note: Not all recipes are nutritionally perfect, but the options below are a great way to start incorporating beneficial foods into your diet in delicious ways. Always try to buy organic, and feel free to make substitutions to accommodate gluten-free, vegan, etc diets. Recipes naturally Vegan and Gluten-Free are marked as such (V=Vegan; GF=Gluten-Free).
Smoothies/Beverages:
Sides & Salads:
- Fruits: Apples, bananas, clementines, grapefruit, grapes, lemons, limes, mangoes, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, tangerines, tomatoes
- Vegetables: Arugula, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, collard greens, green beans, green/red bell peppers, kale, onions, romaine lettuce, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, watercress
- Garlic, ginger, cinnamon
- Brown rice, whole grains, dates, almonds, dulse, kelp, seeds (especially flax, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower)
- Fish, beans, mushrooms (especially reishi, maitake & shiitake), oats, olive oil, tofu, yogurt
Foods to Avoid or Minimize:
- Red meat & dairy products (except yogurt)
- Process/refined foods, fried foods, artificial additives
- Caffeine, sugar, alcohol, yeast
Essential Oils:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
- Rosemary, clove and/or thyme: add a few drops to bath water, or diffuse.
- Low Energy: Lemon, basil, fir, peppermint (shoulders, solar plexus, bottom of feet, diffuse).
- Exhaustion: Lavender, frankincense, lemongrass, clary sage, basil, ginger, grapefruit, lemon, rosemary, sandalwood (bottom of feet, heart, diffuse).
- Metabolic Imbalance: Oregano (lower back, thyroid, feet, kidneys, liver, glands).
Natural/Herbal:
*If additional information or precautions are available, the links below will direct you that information. If not, you will be directed to Amazon for purchasing options.
- Mild aerobic exercise daily
- Stress reduction through yoga, meditation, tai chi
- Alfalfa, amachazuru (Jiaogulan), ashwagandha, borage, burdock root, cardamom, cayenne, cinnamon, cloves, dandelion leaf & root, echinacea, elacampane, evening primrose oil, garlic, ginger, ginseng, guarana (avoid if you have high blood pressure or heart disease), lemon balm, licorice, milk thistle, parsley, passionflower, peppermint, red raspberry leaf, rose hips, rosemary, sage, shatavari, St. John's wort, stinging nettle, thyme, turmeric, yellow dock
- Flaxseed Oil: 1 Tablespoon (14 grams) daily (can be mixed with food or smoothies, take in the morning).
- Thyme tea, added to bath water.
- Korean ginseng for men; Siberian ginseng for women; Astragalus for children (or some use both ginseng and astragalus together as a general energy tonic).
- Guayusa Tea
- 1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses in a cup of hot water (take daily until energy returns).
Yoga Therapy:
- Movement Medicine - Energy Practice (17 minutes - Yoga With Adriene)
- Yoga for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (27 minutes - Chakrapod)
- Forward bends are especially helpful
- Vitamin B Complex: 1 pill twice daily with food (look for B-50 complex with 50 mcg Vitamin B12 and biotin, 400 mcg folic acid, and 50 mg all other B vitamins).
- Vitamin C: 2,000 mg 3 times daily (reduce if it causes diarrhea).
- Carotenoids: 2 pills mixed carotenoids a day with food (should supply 25,000 IU Vitamin A activity).
- Magnesium: 400 mg daily (take with food; reduce if it causes diarrhea).
- Echinacea: 200 mg twice daily (should contain at least 3.5% echinacosides; limit consecutive use to 3 weeks or rotate with other herbs).
- Siberian Ginseng: 100-300 mg twice daily (should contain at least 0.8% eleutherosides).
- Panax Ginseng: 100-250 mg twice daily (should contain at least 7% ginsenosides).
- Licorice: 200 mg 3 times daily (should contain 22% glycyrrhizin or glycyrrhizinic acid; can raise blood pressure).
- Pantothenic Acid: 500 mg twice daily (take with meals).
- Astragalus: 200 mg extract twice daily (rotate in 3 week cycles with echinacea and pau d'arco).
- Pau d'arco: 250 mg twice daily (should contain 3% naphthoquinones).
- Amino Acid Complex: 1 pill twice daily (take on empty stomach).
- Reishi: As Directed
Mind-Body Connection:
- Can represent an imbalance between rational and intuitive thought, your creativity and intuitive energy has been lost or ignored. You feel powerless. Try something new or out of character, take a break, try a new hobby.
- Can also represent spiritual isolation - a sense of meaninglessness tied to spiritual emptiness. Try to start a meditation/prayer practice daily.
- Can also represent acting outwardly in ways that are different from how you really feel internally. If you are feeling deep guilt or self-loathing, your body can turn on itself. Work on improving unconditional self-love.
Recipes - Food Medicine:
*Note: Not all recipes are nutritionally perfect, but the options below are a great way to start incorporating beneficial foods into your diet in delicious ways. Always try to buy organic, and feel free to make substitutions to accommodate gluten-free, vegan, etc diets. Recipes naturally Vegan and Gluten-Free are marked as such (V=Vegan; GF=Gluten-Free).
Smoothies/Beverages:
- Apple-Orange Smoothie (GF)
- Banana-Blueberry Smoothie (GF)
- BananaSauce Smoothie (V, GF)
- Basic Fruit Smoothie (V, GF)
- Blueberry Pineapple Smoothie (V, GF)
- Golden Milk (V, GF)
- Green Smoothie (GF)
- Herbal Mango Smoothie (V, GF)
- Kiwi-Pineapple Smoothie (GF)
- Mango Lassi (GF)
- Mango Pineapple Smoothie (V, GF)
- Mango-Banana Smoothie (GF)
- Mega-Greens Smoothie (GF)
- Orange Smoothie (GF)
- PB & Jelly Sandwich Smoothie (V)
- Peach-Grape Smoothie (GF)
- Pineapple Kale Smoothie (V, GF)
- Pomegranate Dandelion Tea (V, GF)
- Soothing Elixir (V, GF)
- Strawberry Banana Smoothie
- Sunrise Smoothie (V, GF)
- Super Skin Smoothie (GF)
- Tropical Smoothie (V, GF)
- Yogi Tea (V, GF)
- Adult Ramen (V, GF)
- Asian Broccoli & Rice Bowl (V, GF)
- Balsamic Glazed Chicken
- Black Bean Bowl (GF)
- Black Bean Chili (V)
- Black Bean Soup (V, GF)
- Broth (Veggie/Chicken/Beef) - (V, GF)
- Buddha Bowl (V, GF)
- Bulk Spaghetti Sauce (V, GF)
- Cornmeal & Pecan Crusted Fish
- Edamame Rice Bowl (V)
- Garlic Soup (V, GF)
- Healthy Mac & Cheese (V)
- Japanese Onion Soup (V, GF)
- MahiMahi with Cucumber-Dill Sauce (GF)
- Miso Soup (V, GF)
- Mujaddara (V, GF)
- Pan-Fried Fish Fillets
- Pasta Della California (V)
- Pasta Fagioli (V)
- Quinoa Oatmeal (V)
- Red Beans & Rice (V, GF)
- Salmon with Avocado Salsa (GF)
- Salmon with Red Pepper Sauce (GF)
- Sesame Salmon (GF)
- Shells with Healthy Sauce
- Shrimp Power Bowl (GF)
- Soy Chicken (GF)
- Spiced Lentil Soup (V, GF)
- Spicy Black Bean Soup (V, GF)
- Spinach Pasta (V)
- Tilapia with Balsamic Brown Butter
- Turkey Mushroom Saute (GF)
- Vegetarian Chili (V, GF)
- White Bean & Spinach Soup (GF)
Sides & Salads:
- Asian Cabbage Salad (V, GF)
- Brown Rice Pilaf with Saffron and Ginger (V, GF)
- Butternut Squash Risotto (V, GF)
- Caraway Brussels Sprouts (V, GF)
- Chickpea Pasta Salad
- Chinese Peanut Salad (V, GF)
- Double Mashed Potatoes (GF)
- Homemade Salsa (V, GF)
- Kale Salad with Sesame Dressing (V, GF)
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes (V, GF)
- Molasses Beans (GF)
- Pesto Vegetables (V, GF)
- Quinoa Salad (V, GF)
- Red Beans & Rice (V, GF)
- Roasted Green Beans (V, GF)
- Sesame Green Beans (V, GF)
- Spinach & Strawberry Salad (V)
- Steamed Edamame (V, GF)
- Three Bean Salad (V, GF)